The heavy, sulfurous scent of the estuary hung within the air whereas the heat made the morning fluke journey really feel extra like mid-July than early Might. My shoppers labored small jigs with trailing teasers carrying free-swimming minnows above the eel-grass meadows. We additionally fished patches of sand and dust adjoining to the grass the place the summer season flounder picked up the “teased” minnows, although most of our jigs had been fouled by algal slime that bloomed following heavy April rains. Utilizing teasers for fluke saved the journey for us, offering one more instance over my 14 years {of professional} guiding that the straightforward teaser is price its weight in fluke-fishing gold.
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There are lots of variations of a fluke teaser rig, however one of the best place to start is with the best—the tap-dancer rig. This setup presents two baits or hooks about 16 to 24 inches aside and may be rapidly adjusted to indicate the fish quite a lot of teaser sizes and configurations.
Including a teaser above a fluke jig begins with a dropper loop tied 18 to 30 inches above the jig. The dropper loop kinds the attachment level for any sort of teaser, from a fly, a jig, a naked hook, and even a further size of chief materials.
For chief power, 15- to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon works properly in ay areas whereas 20- to 30-pound check works higher for the ocean.
Whereas the power to indicate a fluke two various kinds of choices is a transparent advantage of utilizing a teaser, it additionally helps when fishing weedy backwaters because the larger teaser can stay clear for longer, even after the jig has fouled. When the water is clear, it’s not unusual to catch two fluke at a time. Double headers are sometimes undersized fish, however I’ve had the uncommon event when a pair of 18-inchers appeared boatside, making the netting course of thrilling. The one disadvantage in using a teaser is that whereas it undoubtedly catches extra fish, it appears to catch fewer giant fish.
Fluke stage in places the place they’ll see prey being swept of their course by the ebbing or flooding currents. They are going to even feed a couple of toes off the underside. With a teaser setup, the teaser is typically seen extra simply than the principle lure because it drifts alongside larger within the water column. In some eventualities, the fluke could miss or comply with the principle lure after which assault the teaser because it trails behind.
The principle jig could entice fluke because it hops alongside the underside, leaving a puff of sand, mud, or flashing. Because of the underwater camerawork of angling YouTubers like jigging guru John Skinner, we all know that fluke will swim or chase lures appreciable distances. Regardless of that preliminary attraction to the principle lure, a fluke is usually engaged by the teaser above, maybe as a result of it has a greater view because it’s silhouetted towards the floor.
Sorts of Teasers for Fluke
Naked hooks are the best and most simple teaser to make use of. Naked hooks must be threaded onto the dropper loop so that they lie flat in a horizontal place, not cockeyed or vertically; in any other case, the baits is not going to swim enticingly. Attempt stay minnows, lifeless spearing, strip baits, or scented artificials. Some anglers thread a sliding skirt of feathers, a bucktail, mushy plastic, or vinyl in entrance of the hook, however be sure you make the dropper loop lengthy sufficient to accommodate these adornments. Ocean fluke anglers do properly with giant 5/0 to six/0 Gamakatsu baitholders tipped with 6- to 8-inch Gulp baits or giant 8-inch strips of trolling squid.
Customized-tied flies resembling native forage species may be phenomenal teasers when fluking. Surf Candies, grass-shrimp imitations, or crab flies are wonderful representations, and might even out-perform Gulp and pure baits. Some anglers add scent to teaser flies to additional enhance their attractiveness.
One of the simplest ways to determine what the fluke are ingesting is to concentrate to what baits they spit up and to verify the abdomen contents of your keepers. Till you recognize for sure what they’re consuming, a dependable fly to start out with is a sparsely tied Lefty’s Deceiver with a white underside and a colourful topside (pink, yellow, chartreuse) with silver flash within the center.
Small jigs of 1/16 to ¼ ounce additionally work as teasers. These may be bare jigheads or jigs dressed with bucktail or silicone skirts. One in every of my favorites is a 1/8-ounce white or chartreuse shad dart tipped with fresh-cut bait. The added weight of the jig offers extra “dancing” traits to the teaser, which may make a dramatic distinction when fluke are gorging on grass or sand shrimp.
Trailing Teasers
A fluke teaser hooked up on to the dropper loop can usually be extremely efficient at hooking hungry flatties; nonetheless, in some conditions, utilizing a trailing teaser may be higher at triggering bites whereas offering the fluke with a second alternative to feed after it has missed or handed on the principle lure.
There are two methods so as to add a trailing setup to your fluking arsenal. The primary technique makes use of the prevailing dropper loop of the tapdancer setup so as to add a size of chief through a loop-to-loop connection. Your teaser, whether or not it’s a plain hook or floating jighead, is hooked up on to the additional chief. The second technique disregards the dropper loop for a 3-way swivel. The size of chief adopted by teaser is hooked up to one of many swivels of the three-way. I choose the dropper loop connection as a result of I can simply go from trailing to non-trailing teasers with out re-tying. As a constitution captain, that reduces my outing of the water.
The efficient size of the trailing teaser chief varies resulting from quite a lot of elements together with drift pace, feeding habits, and backside traits. Typically, the sooner the drift, a shorter chief will give the lure and teaser a great presentation. Because the drift slows down, the chief may be lengthened to accompany the slower pace (as much as 40 inches), permitting for a greater presentation. When fishing sticky construction, it’s greatest to go to a extra vertical setup quite than the trailing one as a result of the trailing chief will enhance your odds of hanging up. One of the simplest ways to find out an applicable chief size is to have a couple of rods with totally different chief lengths rigged after which regularly regulate to the chew.
One challenge with the trailing setup comes when it is advisable to internet a fish, particularly if it’s a bigger specimen. The teaser or major line tends to get hung up within the internet, which may put anglers out of fee for a drift or two. One other challenge can happen if the teaser or major lure turns into caught within the mesh throughout the netting try, giving the fish a chance to flee. I’ve discovered it’s higher to make use of a bigger internet and scoop up the entire rig and fish quite than focusing solely on the fish.
Anglers concentrating on fish within the ocean also can use the trailing setup if the present or drift is shifting at a great clip over sandy or open backside. Huge fluke love complete squid rigged onto a trailer or a big strip bait. I choose two-hook setups for these, however be certain the hooks are set in order that spin is just not created. The bait ought to circulation naturally to entice fluke.
Whether or not you fish for summer season flounder alongside deep back-bay channels, skinny water flats, or deep reefs miles from shore, using a teaser above your jig doubles the alternatives for catching.
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